Losing the Light
by L0Liipop
Summary: Fast forward to the end of Tartarus arc. "If I'm falling back down to hell, I'll at least take you with me!" With that he dragged Lucy with him until only her fingertips were seen, barely grabbing on to the crack on the ground. "NATSU!" Lucy frantically cried out. "LUCY!" Both celestial mage and dragon slayer, forcing their bodies beyond its limits, trying to reach for one another.
1. Chapter 1

-CHAPTER 1-

They had won. After Rogue and Sting lost against Mard Geer, the "Underworld King" managed to find his way to where Natsu and Gajeel had just finished their fight against Torafusa and Tempesta. Somehow, after a grueling and bloody battle, Natsu managed to defeat Mard Geer. Right above the unconscious demon stood Natsu, staggering while holding onto the wall for support. Blood was dripping from head to toe, creating a small puddle beneath the dragon slayer's feet. Natsu took one look at his fallen prey before collapsing on the ground. Lucy ran over to catch her partner before he hit the cold hard floor.

"Good work." The blonde celestial mage gently smiled at the beaten yet victorious dragon slayer in her arms. Pausing to catch his breath, Natsu gave her his signature grin in reply.

"Heh. Didn't think you had it in you, Salamander." Gajeel appeared from the side, clutching his injuries, while Levy supported him on her small shoulders.

"Juvia is worried about Gray-sama." Juvia had woken up in the middle of Natsu's fight against Mard Geer and insisted on going to find Gray. However, Lucy was able to stop her, insisting that it was best they stick together.

"Don't wo—" Before Lucy could finish her sentence she was interrupted by shouts from behind. "Lucy! Natsu!" Lucy turned around to see Erza, Happy, Pantherlily, and Gray, accompanied by Frosche, Lector, Minerva, Sting, and Rogue.

"Erza! Happy!" Lucy cried out happily. "You found Gray!" She almost ran up to her reunited friends to give them all a big hug but managed to stop herself before she accidently knocked Natsu off her lap.

"I ran into Gray on the way here." Erza said.

"Aye! Natsu looks so worn out. Did you try to carry him again, Lucy?" Happy asked innocently. "I didn't do anything you damned cat!" Lucy shouted back.

"Good job on defeating Mard Geer, Natsu." Erza looked down and grinned in satisfaction. "Not bad, Flame-brain." Gray chipped in, looking at the demon, once called the "Underworld King", now lying face down on the ground.

"Gray-sama! I'm so glad you're safe!" Juvia rushed up to Gray in tears and attempted to hug him, which Gray skillfully dodged. "Of course I'm safe you idiot." "Juvia is so sorry about Father!" Juvia burst into tears again while Gray frantically tried to calm her down.

"What's Sabertooth doing here?" Gajeel growled, looking over at Minerva, Sting, and Rogue. "Don't worry. They're on our side." Erza glanced over at Minerva and gave her a smile, which Minerva returned.

"Putting that aside…" Erza looked up at the crumbling walls and ceilings. "This place isn't going to last much longer now that the demons have been defeated. We better get out of here quickly." Everyone nodded in unison and began scrambling to reach the exit. Lucy, supporting Natsu; Levy, supporting Gajeel; Erza, supporting Minerva; Juvia clinging onto Gray, still in tears; Happy and Pantherlily flying just ahead; Rogue, Sting, Frosche, and Lector running side by side.

Just behind the group, the ceiling came crashing down. Cracks in the ground began opening and a dark abyss could be seen below. "Didn't think I'd be seeing hell so soon." Gray spoke up. "I guess this is a sign telling us to hurry up and get the hell out of here!" The entire cubed guild was beginning to fall apart. "Let's hurry everyone! I can see the exit just ahead!" Erza shouted and began to make her way towards the front of the group.

Suddenly, Lucy felt cold hands wrap around her ankles. "Kyaah!" Losing her balance, she tripped, dropping Natsu in the process. "Lucy!" Barely conscious, Natsu tried to reach for her but his body refused to move. Lucy looked behind her, only to see a battered Mard Geer with a face that looked as if it had reached the brink of insanity. His body was half consumed by the crevices in the floor, the other half holding onto the celestial mage who now lay on the ground.

"I, one of Zeref's demons, losing to a couple of lowly humans?" Mard Geer laughed wildly before focusing his eyes on Lucy. "It's all your fault. If it weren't for you, my plan would be perfect and complete! Everything is your fault! If I'm falling back down to hell, I'll at least take you with me!" The demon began pulling Lucy with him. "Don't think that you've won, Fairy Tail! The one who'll have the last laugh is me!" With that he dragged Lucy with him until only her fingertips were seen, barely grabbing on to the crack on the ground.

"LUCY!" Natsu screamed; he frantically tried to get on his feet but his body wouldn't listen to him. "MOVE DAMNIT! YOU'RE MY BODY SO MOVE WHEN I TELL YOU TO!" Clawing at the ground, Natsu tried fighting back against his body's pain signals, ignoring every burning sensation he was feeling. Right now, his only focus was to save Lucy. Managing to move a few inches closer, Natsu once again reached out his hand in an attempt to grab Lucy's hands.

"NATSU!" Lucy frantically cried out, stretching her arms. "LUCY!" Both celestial mage and dragon slayer, forcing their bodies beyond its limits, trying to reach for one another. However, only their fingertips touched and Natsu felt the ultimate despair as he felt her fingers, along with all hope, slipping from his hand and her figure disappearing into the darkness below. "NATSUUU—" He could still hear her lingering screams and the echo that bounced off the broken walls as he continued staring at the now empty space in a mix of shock and horror. "N…N…NOOO! LUCY!" His body now began to move and Natsu stumbled over in a blind attempt to jump into the abyss and save his partner.

"Natsu, stop it!" Two armored hands struggled to hold the dragon slayer back before he did anything stupid. "WHY ARE YOU STOPPING ME? LUCY…LUCY NEEDS MY HELP! I HAVE TO SAVE HER!" Struggling, Natsu tried to fight against Erza's grip but she only held him tighter. "WHY ARE YOU STOPPING ME ERZA? DO YOU NOT CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO LU—" Natsu's words were interrupted with a jaw-crushing punch to his face. His body flew and crashed into the walls, causing some rubble to fall on top of him. Everyone kept quiet, heads down, while Erza stalked her way over to Natsu and grabbed his collar.

"WE ALL WANTED TO SAVE HER! YOU AREN'T THE ONLY ONE WHO FAILED TO REACH HER IN TIME. YOU AREN'T THE ONLY ONE WHO LET LUCY SLIP FROM RIGHT UNDER YOUR FINGERS! BUT WILL YOU USE YOUR BRAIN FOR ONCE? WHAT GOOD IS IT TO JUMP INTO HELL RIGHT AFTER HER? AS IF SEEING ONE FRIEND DISAPPEAR ISN'T ENOUGH, YOU WANT ME TO JUST LET YOU GO AND KILL YOURSELF? THINK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE'S FEELINGS FOR A CHANGE!" Her voice was angry but Erza's face displayed an emotion mixed with sorrow and desolation. Her eyes blinked back the tears that reached the surface.

_Right when they had heard Lucy's scream, Erza, Gray, and Happy immediately turned around and began running in the direction of their team member; the rest of the group following after them. However, deep in their hearts they knew they would not be able to reach her in time. They could only place all their hopes on Natsu who was so close to where Lucy was. But their hopes were soon crushed when they saw their favorite celestial mage tumbling into the darkness below. _

_"No…!" Erza gasped. "Shit!" Gray spat out, cursing himself for not being able to reach her in time. "Lucy…is gone…" Happy cried out, thick tears welling up in his eyes before he began sobbing. "No fucking way…" Gajeel had muttered emptily as he watched the scene unfold before him. "Lu-chan!" Levy cried as tears streamed down her face. "Love rival…" Juvia whimpered. Pantherlily's head hung low. Even Sabertooth seemed to be in complete shock over what had just happened. And then there was the dragon slayer, screaming her name in a pathetic attempt that she would resurface and reassure them that it was all just a joke. However, she never did and Erza was the only one able to regain her composure just in time to stop a certain idiot from experiencing the same fate. _

Natsu looked down, tears slowly streaming down his face. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm SO SORRY! LUCY!" He repeated, each time his apologies growing louder and louder until he was full on bawling like a baby. He hated himself for not being able to grab her hand. Natsu hated himself for not pushing his own body a little further until he could feel Lucy's warm hand secure in his own. Hell, he wouldn't even care if his body broke as long as she was safe by his side. But because of his own incompetence, Natsu had now lost his best friend, his partner, his teammate. Tears ruthlessly poured down his face as memories of the jobs he took with Lucy began rushing into his head. Now, he'll never be able to experience that same happiness again. It'll never be the same again and it was all his fault.

Erza sighed and released her grip on Natsu's collar. "First we have to get out of here or we'll all end up dead." She lowered her voice and spoke as if she was trying to convince herself. "Besides, I know Lucy is still alive. Fairy Tail mages are strong. She won't give up and die this easily. Not the Lucy I know." Erza looked at Natsu and gave him a sad smile. She reached out her hand. "Come on, let's go." Natsu hesitated and then for the first time, looked Erza in the eyes and gave her a slight nod before grabbing her hand.

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**A/N: Yay! My first fanfic! Anyways, please tell me if any of the characters are OOC, I tried my best to make them in character. I didn't really do any pairings despite whatever romantic undertones you guys may be reading. Actually, I'm a major NaLu fan but I'm not confident enough to keep them in character while adding romance. So far, there's no romance planned for this story though it MIGHT change depending on what you guys think. **


	2. Chapter 2

-CHAPTER 2-

"Natsu! Erza! Gray!" Upon exiting the Tartarus guild, Team Natsu, Gajeel, Levy, Juvia, and Sabertooth were greeted by the excited remaining members of Fairy Tail. "You guys did it! You actually defeated Tartarus!" Mirajane exclaimed happily, running up to give everyone celebratory hug. However after second glancing at their gloomy faces, she stopped herself and immediately knew something was wrong.

"Everyone!" Before Mirajane had the chance to ask them about it, she heard the distant cries of Wendy and saw her tiny figure running up to them. Behind her, Mirajane could make out Lamia Scale, Mermaid Heel, and all the other guilds that were once their rivals during the Grand Magic Games.

"Wendy! What's going on?" Mira questioned. Wendy took a second to catch her breath before answering. "Doranbolt and I managed to successfully stop all the Faces with the help of the other guilds. It's over! We won!"

Hearing the great news, everyone in Fairy Tail broke out into a loud roar, hugging one another and tearfully celebrating their huge victory; everyone except Team Natsu and the rest of his group.

"Eh? What's wrong with Natsu and the others?" Wendy asked aloud. She had expected Natsu to be the loudest out of them all and was surprised when she didn't catch his hearty laugh on top of everyone's wild cheers. Upon hearing Wendy's question, everyone immediately stopped celebrating and slowly turned towards the direction of the sullen group.

Wendy looked around before asking. "Where's Lucy?" Everyone tensed up when the dreaded question was finally asked. The moment Natsu and the others came out from the exit, the Fairy Tail mages all noticed that Lucy was not with them. However, none of them dared to bring it up for fear that the answer would create a worst-case scenario.

Natsu continued looking down, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails began drawing blood from his palm. The rest of his group had the same response, none of them making eye contact with any of their fellow guild members out of guilt, sorrow, and shame.

"Mard Geer got her." Erza spoke up quietly. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go rescue her! Can't let a couple of demons underestimate Fairy Tail!" Cana said excitedly while the rest of Fairy Tail cheered in agreement. However, the expression on Natsu and the others did not change. Cana saw this and her determined appearance slowly faded into a mix of anger and concern.

"What's wrong with you guys? Why aren't you doing anything?" "Cana." A hand rested gently on one of Cana's shoulders. She turned around to look at Erza, and when she saw Erza slowly shaking her head, Cana felt her blood run cold.

"Mard Geer pulled Lucy down with him. She's out of our reach." The look in Erza's eyes told everyone all they needed to know. "We can't save her…" Erza suddenly turned to look at Fairy Tail with a determined expression. "…not without the help of someone else."

Natsu and Gray perked up when they heard the last half of Erza's words. Gray spoke up first, his face brightened by a sliver of hope. "M...Master might be able to help us. He might have a clue on how to get Lucy back from that damned demon!"

The rest of Fairy Tail agreed, all hoping from the very bottom of their hearts that their Master had a solution to finding their beloved guild member. Wendy quickly brushed away a stray tear. "Where is Master?"

"He said he was going back to Magnolia first. We might be able to find him near the remains of what used to be our guild." Mira replied.

Everyone nodded and began heading back to Magnolia. Ahead of all the other mages was Natsu Dragneel, carried by his blue Exceed. "Max speed, Happy." "Aye sir!" Natsu didn't want to waste a single second. He had to get to Master as soon as possible and rescue Lucy before it was too late.

"Sorry." Elfman spoke up on the way back. Beside him, Mira looked up and gave her brother a small smile. "It wasn't your fault. You were under the control of a demon." "Yeah…but still, I was the one who destroyed the guild." Elfman persisted. Before he could say anymore, Mira gave her brother a strong flick to the forehead. "Stop whining. You're a man, aren't you?" Elfman eyes widened in surprise before nodding and the two continued running all the way back to Magnolia. "Thanks sis."

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**A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short! I swear it looked longer on word doc. I promise the next one will be twice as long! **

**Thanks for all your wonderful reviews, it really keeps me going as a writer to continue writing. You have no idea how happy it makes me! ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

-CHAPTER 3-

"Guess we have to rebuild our guild again. " Makarov let out a sigh as he stared at the broken remains of Fairy Tail. "And to think it was a gift from the city too!"

Suddenly Makarov felt a strong force colliding with his back, knocking him face down. "Gramps! How do I get into hell? " Hearing the familiar voice of the guild's one and only fire-breathing dragon slayer, Makarov felt a vein pop in his head.

"Natsu…if you don't get off me right now, I will personally send you to hell." Hearing their Master's strict voice, Natsu and Happy quickly got off Makarov.

Makarov sighed for the second time today. Picking himself up, he turned around and came face to face with a frantic Natsu and Happy. "Now, explain to me why you're in such a rush."

Natsu and Happy looked at each other before proceeding to summarize the events that had happened after everyone was freed from Alegria. The rest of Fairy Tail had arrived in the middle of Natsu's story. Their expressions, solemn, when they were finally filled in about the details concerning Lucy's "disappearance".

"So how do we save Lucy, Gramps? Tell us! How do we get into hell?" Natsu shouted at the end of his recap.

Makarov stayed silent for a minute, his eyes closed, absorbing the devastating news that Natsu had just told him. Finally Makarov opened his eyes and directed his full attention to Natsu. Natsu flinched under the sharp and serious stare of his Master.

"There is a way to open the Gates of Hell." Everyone immediately perked up at the good news, their eyes glistened with hope. Natsu gulped and leaned forward in anticipation of what Master was about to say. "Please tell us Master. We are prepared to do anything and everything possible to save Lucy." Erza spoke politely.

Then Master said the one thing no one wanted to hear. "It's impossible."

Everyone's eyes widened. Silence surrounded the Fairy Tail mages; each and every person desperately trying to push the words they had just heard out of their minds. No one dared utter a word; no one dared ask Master what he meant in fear that they will be forced to accept reality. Every one knew that Master was not the type to joke around in grave situations, which made it even harder for them to rebuke what he had just told them. Still, everyone continued holding on to that thin strip of hope, desperately wishing that Master would remind them that nothing was impossible for Fairy Tail.

Erza's hand rested on Natsu's trembling back, trying to calm him down. However her own voice quivered as she spoke. "Master, what do you mean it's impossible?"

"Once you enter, you can never leave. A human that has stepped foot into the Underworld will have their body consumed by the flames of hell, their souls forever left to wander around for eternity." Makarov explained, his serious expression never changing.

"So what? I'm not afraid of a little fire!" Natsu shouted confidently. "I'm going in there to save Lucy no matter what anyone says or does! And if I have to go by myself, then I will!"

"Natsu, don't forget about me and Gray. We're a team, remember?" Erza said, lightly smacking him on the head. "Yeah, flame-brain. Don't go hogging all the attention." Gray added, smirking. "I want to save Lucy too!" Happy cried. One by one, each of the Fairy Tail mages pitched in, supporting the idea to go and save one of their beloved guild members. "YEAH! We'll teach them not to mess with Fairy Tail!" "Can't let them underestimate us!" "A true man wouldn't let hell scare him!" "Lucy's part of our family; we can't forsake her!"

"SILENCE!" Everyone immediately stopped their chatter at the sound of Master's deafening roar, turning around to see their guild master who now donned an expression of anger. "If everyone could just walk in and out of hell, do you think the Magic Council would have gone to such extreme measures to seal away the entrance to the Gates of Hell? You brats don't understand just how dangerous hell truly is. The Gates of Hell is not a one-way entry. The moment you open those forbidden doors, you will be unlocking the cage that entraps an infinite amount of demons, setting free an unimaginable evil with the power to destroy the world. It will literally be hell on earth. Even if there was a slight chance that you find Lucy and get out of hell alive together, I cannot allow your selfish actions to endanger and kill millions of innocent people around us."

"So are you telling us to just leave her there? Abandon one of our Fairy Tail members? Abandon Lucy?" Natsu was now trembling, trying his hardest to suppress his emotions.

Makarov slowly closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before replying. "Yes. Yes I am, Natsu."

The moment those cold, cruel words slipped out of Master's mouth, violent flames engulfed Natsu's body, the floor under him crumbling under the pressure of his fire. "What are you saying, Gramps?" His eyes widened in rage. "Lucy…LUCY SAVED US ALL! SHE SAVED FAIRY TAIL! IT WAS BECAUSE LUCY SAVED US THAT SHE GOT DRAGGED DOWN TO HELL! IF IT WEREN'T FOR HER WE WOULD ALL STILL BE STUCK INSIDE TARTARUS AND LUCY WOULD BE THE ONLY ONE HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Upon hearing these words, Fairy Tail broke down into tears. Erza lowered her head, tears spilling out and creating droplets on the ground. In her arms was Happy, crying in the comfort of Erza's armored chest. Gray's eyebrows were knit together, his eyes forced shut, trying to blink away the tears that were threatening to fall. Juvia also had tears in her eyes as she shifted her gaze between Gray and the ground. Wendy dropped to her knees and began sobbing uncontrollably while Carla hugged her shoulder in an attempt to comfort both Wendy and herself. Levy buried herself in Gajeel's chest and started weeping quietly. Gajeel tightly wrapped his arms around the trembling blue-haired mage. There were no tears in the iron dragon-slayer's eyes but it was obvious that he was also deeply affected by the loss of the celestial mage. Elfman wailed loudly while hugging Mira and Lisanna, who were also crying in his arms. Cana grit her teeth, in an attempt to stifle her cries, but allowed her tears to freely stream down her face.

Makarov looked at the miserable faces of his treasured children but held in his tears. Despite the fact that he was feeling the most guilt, Makarov forced himself to put on a strong façade in front of his kids. He knew that if he fell apart now, no one would be left to pick up the broken pieces of Fairy Tail; to repair the giant hole that Lucy had left in everyone's hearts.

"If anyone makes even the SLIGHTEST attempt to try to open the Gates of Hell, I will banish him or her from Fairy Tail." Makarov turned away from the rest of Fairy Tail and spoke in a softer, gentler voice. "Tomorrow we will begin reconstructing our guild." With that said, Makarov walked away and all the tears he had tried so hard to hold in began to leak out.

Makarov's words dropped, what felt like a bomb, on each of the Fairy Tail mages; crushing and shattering that last thin strip of hope, and along with it, their heart.

Natsu felt his strength draining as he lifelessly dropped to the ground. He had already cried a lifetime's worth of tears and now had no more energy to cry. Instead, Natsu's face had an empty expression, void of life. He felt dead; Natsu felt as if someone had stung him through the heart several times and then finally dealt the finishing blow by piercing right through. He slowly looked down at his bloody, dirty hands, the same hands that were unable to save his best friend. He could still feel the lingering warmth of Lucy's fingertips around his fingers, almost as if it was haunting him.

"This is all Mard Geer's fault! I'll kill him the next time I see him…no, the next time I even smell him; I'll kill him." Natsu thought angrily. But then he stopped. What was he doing blaming other people? This was all his fault. If only he had been stronger and killed the demon instead of knocking him unconscious. Then none of this would have happened. If only he had dealt the finishing blow. Then Lucy would be laughing by his side, celebrating their victory. But now he can't even consider himself victorious; instead, he felt an incredible sense of loss.

_"But I…still want to stay in the guild…I love Fairy Tail!" _Natsu thought back to the time when Phantom Lord attacked Fairy Tail. When he heard Lucy's confession, he swore to himself that he would never let anyone take away Lucy's place in the guild. He swore that he would protect her…and yet, he failed.

_"I'll definitely take revenge for Lucy!" _Natsu couldn't even describe how satisfied he felt when he gave Sabertooth a taste of their own medicine during the Grand Magic Games. _"No one gets away with hurting Lucy."_ However, this time, Natsu couldn't even avenge Lucy. There was no one to hate, no one to take out his anger on, no one to fight. Lucy was gone. Reality finally hit Natsu as he pounded his fists on the ground in despair. She was gone. Lucy was never coming back.

Natsu's mind began to wander to the memories of when Future Rogue killed Future Lucy. He replayed the recollections of the promise that was now broken because of his own incapability. "I'm sorry Lucy. " Natsu whispered quietly. "I couldn't protect your future."

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**A/N: THE END. Lucy dies and Fairy Tail eventually gets over her death.**

**Just kidding.**

**Anyways, I should mention that every event that happens in this story is based on my own ideas and has nothing do with the manga (except for the characters). *SPOILERS* So far, in the manga, Natsu and Gajeel are still fighting those two demons and Mard Geer is still fighting Rogue and Sting. *END SPOILERS***

**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please read and review! If you have any suggestions that you want me to add in my story, feel free to tell me! (Though I can't guarantee anything.) **


	4. Chapter 4

-CHAPTER 4-

The first few weeks were an absolute nightmare. Fairy Tail was in the worst state it had ever been; there was no chatter, no laughter; only dead silence. Everyone immersed themselves in the reconstruction of their guild, trying to escape reality; the reality that was void of Lucy. Even after the guild was complete, people would only sit in silence, rarely accepting any job offers.

Makarov hated seeing his children so lifeless, yet he could never bring himself to speak up about it. After all, he was the one who told them to give up on Lucy. Makarov honestly wanted there to be another way to save Lucy from hell without endangering the rest of the world, but he knew such impossibility was only wishful thinking.

There was never a funeral service for Lucy; Natsu refused to believe that she was dead and he was ready to fight anyone who said otherwise. Not that anyone would say otherwise. All of Fairy Tail wanted to have the same mindset as Natsu; they also wanted to believe that one day Lucy was going to walk right through those guild doors as if nothing had happened. Yet deep down, everyone, including Natsu, knew that there was no chance Lucy was ever coming back. But if they succumbed to the hopelessness of their situation, Fairy Tail would lose the one spark of faith that was keeping them sane.

Erza was the first one who tried pulling herself together. "Natsu. Gray. Let's go on a job together." Erza said, yanking one of the job offers off the bulletin board.

"Don't feel like it…" Natsu and Gray muttered simultaneously, not bothering to even look at the voice that had just spoken. "What did you just say?" Erza appeared behind Natsu and Gray, her voice the same threatening tone she always used whenever Gray and Natsu were fighting. Natsu and Gray flinched under the pressure of her aggressive presence. "N...Nothing!" They both knew how scary Erza was when she was mad.

"Good. That's what I thought." Erza nodded in satisfaction, her hands on her hips. "I'm going to go pack my stuff. I expect you guys to be ready when I come back." She turned around to walk back home and prepare for her first job since the Tartarus incident.

Natsu hesitated for a second before turning around with a groan. "Let's go, Happy! Lucy!" He hadn't meant to say her name. It just spilled out as if it was the most natural thing to say in the world. It was a force of habit; the words he was so used to repeating every time either him or Erza had found a job; the very words that he would never again be able to say.

Erza halted at the mention of the celestial mage's name, her back still turned towards the rest of the guild. The gloomy atmosphere that Erza had tried so hard to erase was once again brought back by the mere mention of Lucy's name. Ever since the incidents in Tartarus, no one had dared bring up Lucy's name. Suppressed sobs and sniffles echoed across the guild as some of the mages began to cry. Gray seemed to have forgotten every word Erza had just said as he sat back down, burying his head in his hands.

Erza had an indescribable pained expression across her face, never once turning back to look at her fellow guild members. In the end, she left and completed the job all on her own.

Two weeks later, everyone stared in shock as a certain fire-breathing dragon slayer stood in front of the bulletin board, surveying the incredulous amount of jobs that had piled up due to the lack of job-takers in Fairy Tail. "Hey flame-brain. What's gotten into you?" Usually Gray's comments would bring forth a fight, but neither Natsu nor Gray was in the mood to even argue. "Lucy's rent is due this month." Natsu said before quickly ripping a job offer off the board and walking out the guild.

Natsu spent most of his nights in Lucy's house, waiting for her to come back home. He helped pay her monthly rent, in strained belief that one day Lucy would come home and when she did, he didn't want her to find herself in the same predicament she was in after coming back from Tenrou Island. Natsu missed the exaggerated shocked expressions Lucy would make every time she came home to find him in her room. He missed randomly surprising her in the baths. He missed sneaking into her bed every night and falling asleep in the comfort of her warmth. He missed how she would scream after waking up and discovering his sleeping form next to hers. He even missed the way she would kick him out of her window whenever he trespassed. But most of all, Natsu missed her sweet scent, her bubbly personality, her kind smile, her presence; he missed Lucy.

Lucy's apartment was now beginning to smell like Natsu. As her strawberry-vanilla smell began diminishing, Natsu felt an incredible sense of loneliness as if the very last remaining fragments of Lucy were disappearing. In an act of desperation, Natsu poured Lucy's strawberry-vanilla shampoo over himself, bathing in the fragrant, nostalgic smell of his cherished partner.

"Lucy! I smell Lucy!" Wendy suddenly spoke up, revived from her depressed state. Her head instantly perked up the second Natsu walked into the guild. Gajeel seemed to have noticed the same thing but turned away in disappointment when he saw where the familiar scent was coming from. Everyone sat up instantaneously when they heard the small dragon slayer's statement, anticipating her every movements.

Wendy continued sniffing the air until she stopped right in front of Natsu. However, realization hit her when she looked at Natsu, his guilty face turned away from hers. Wendy collapsed on the floor and began sobbing; the small flicker of hope destroyed as quickly as it was created. Everyone else looked back down, tears gathering in the corner of their eyes. "Sorry…" Natsu whispered, still too ashamed to look at any of his guild members.

Natsu was staring at the bulletin board for the second time this month. "What's wrong Natsu? It's not time to pay Lucy's bills yet." Mirajane asked, the same question weighing on everyone else's minds. Natsu didn't respond, his eyes glued to a specific job offer. Instead of the same expressionless look Natsu would have every time he picked a job, this time, Natsu looked as if he was holding in his anger. Unable to subdue her curiosity any longer, Mirajane moved out from behind the bar to stand next to Natsu. She peered over his shoulders to take a look at the paper, now crumpled in the dragon slayer's trembling hands.

Mira's eyes widened when she read the descriptions of the job offer. "Dark guild…Natsu, you can't possibly be thinking…" Mira stopped when she saw the unwavering look in Natsu's eyes.

"They might know something about Lucy." Natsu whispered, his eyes never leaving the job offer. Natsu was about to head out with Happy when he was stopped by two familiar voices.

"Wait Natsu, we're coming with you." "Stop doing everything on your own, flame-brain." Natsu turned around and came face to face with Erza and Gray. Their expressions were still downcast, but the months spent moping had given them a stronger determination and a portion of their past selves were reappearing. "I want to go too!" Wendy spoke up. If the dark guild had any clues on how to save Lucy, Wendy wanted to be the first to hear it. The rest of Fairy Tail had the same thoughts but they decided it would be best to let Team Natsu handle the job.

Natsu looked over at his team and nodded. "Let's go." Together, Wendy, Gray, Erza, and Natsu headed out to accomplish their first team mission together since the loss of one of their most precious team members.

A few days later, Team Natsu returned from successfully completing the job offer. However, the dark guild didn't seem to know anything about Lucy or even about demons in general.

He was supposed to feel discouraged due to the lack of information, to feel frustrated over the fact that they were making no progress. Instead, Natsu felt an overwhelming sense of twisted satisfaction when he annihilated the dark guild, the very same type of guild that took Lucy away from him. The moment Natsu connected his fiery fist with the dark guild leader's jaw to deliver the finishing blow, he couldn't help but feel ecstasy at the sound and sensation of his enemy's bones shattering into a million pieces, just like his heart did many months ago. He had told himself that he would never make the same mistake again. Never again will he fail to deal the final blow; never again will he lose a loved one because of his own weakness.

Natsu continued taking on every job offer involving dark guilds. Being deprived of any information at the end of each and every job pushed Natsu's rationality past its limits. What started off as a search for Lucy began manifesting into a cruel way for him to vent out his frustrations. If he couldn't destroy Mard Geer, he would destroy the closest thing related to Mard Geer that he could get his hands on. Being left with no target to hate, no enemy to fight, no demon to blame; Natsu extracted his vengeance on every dark guild he encountered. His constant self-accusations for the loss of Lucy only furthered his resolve to extinguish every dark guild out there; as if this was the only way he could forgive himself. It was as if every time Natsu ruined a dark guild, he was making amends for his past failures.

Erza and Gray noticed what was happening to Natsu but they continued accompanying him on every job because they understood how the dragon slayer felt. Though not to that extent, both Erza and Gray couldn't deny how much better they felt each time they took down a dark guild. Wendy, on the other hand, couldn't stand watching the changes Natsu was going through and eventually stopped tagging along.

It had been 7 months since the defeat of Tartarus. Mirajane was behind the bar, staring at the empty chair that Lucy used to occupy. Since the loss of one their guild mates, Fairy Tail was never the same as before, though the guild was now beginning to regain a small percentage of its lively atmosphere.

"Good morning sister!" Lisanna walked up to the bar and sat next to what used to be Lucy's chair. Throughout these 7 months, no one had sat in Lucy's chair, still waiting for her to one day come home and reclaim her seat.

"Good morning Lisanna." Mira replied, smiling at her sister. She paused to look at the bulletin board.

"Where's Natsu?" Lisanna asked, noticing Mira's shift of attention. She was pretty sure she knew where the dragon slayer and his team went but wanted to hear it from her sister's own lips.

Mira sighed, cleaning one of the glass cups on the bar counter. "Natsu, Erza, and Gray left on a job this morning."

"Another dark guild..." Lisanna said quietly. Everyone in Fairy Tail had noticed the changes surrounding Natsu but no one said anything about it. They really didn't know which was better; seeing Natsu depressed and wallowing in guilt or seeing him engrossed in seeking revenge.

"I don't like it…" Lisanna continued. "Every time Natsu goes on a job, he sinks deeper and deeper into darkness. It's not even about Lucy anymore; it's about himself. Natsu can't forgive himself so he's destroying dark guilds one after another to make himself feel better. In the end, he's only hurting himself even more." Lisanna slammed her hands on the counter, tears in her eyes. "Someone has to stop him before he gets himself too deep in his own emotions!"

Mira put the cup she was cleaning back on the counter. "Lisanna, we all feel the same way. But what right do we have to stop him? None of us can understand how Natsu felt; being so close yet so far from saving someone he cared about so much!"

"But sister! Are we just going to keep letting Natsu and the others do this to themselves? It's true. I can never understand how Natsu was feeling at the moment he lost Lucy." Lisanna paused for a second before looking her sister in the eyes. "However, I can understand the pain of not being able to help a friend who's hurting when he's so close to you!"

There were a few seconds of silence before Mira gently placed her hands on top of her sister's clenched up fists. "You're right. I'll talk to Master about this." She looked up at the guild doors. "For now, we can only hope that nothing goes wrong."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the long (not really that long) wait, I was busy...hanging out with my friends. ;) And yeah I am kind of dragging this story out a bit so you might have to wait a while before we actually see something happen. Right now I'm experiencing major writer's block so no words are coming into my head. **

**But that aside, what did you guys think of this chapter? Please read and review! Any comments are appreciated!**


	5. Chapter 5

-CHAPTER 5-

Natsu, Gray, and Erza stood in front of a run-down cottage in the middle of the forest. Gray raised his eyebrow while observing the hut. "Damn, this place looks so tattered. Are you sure our client can even pay us? I mean they offered a pretty huge amount for this job, compared to all the other jobs we took in the past."

"I heard our client this time around is a Magic Council member. For them to lay out such an enormous amount of reward money must mean that this dark guild is a big danger to the Council. " Erza answered.

Natsu kept silent during Gray and Erza's exchange. "Lucy would have gone crazy if she knew how many months of rent this job could pay off." He chuckled softly to himself. "Though I'd probably burn the whole city down again and we'd end up having to make a run for it before we even get any Jewels for completing the job."

Natsu flashbacked to all those times when both him and Lucy got chased out of the city. He would always be laughing while Lucy would be yelling at him from behind. She was constantly frustrated with the way he always managed to break something at every single job they took on; but the next day, he would find them another job and she would accompany him like usual.

Natsu really missed going on jobs with Lucy. She was his partner. Ever since Natsu partnered up with Lucy, going on jobs with just Happy didn't feel right anymore. Jobs just weren't fun without Lucy; he couldn't get fired up during fights without her supporting him on the sidelines.

"Natsu? Are you still feeling sick from the train ride?" Natsu's mind was brought back to the present by Happy's concerned voice.

"No, I'm okay." Natsu replied. "Just thinking about some things."

"Natsu…THINKING?" Was how Happy wanted to respond, but he knew that every time Natsu was thinking, he was thinking about Lucy. Having been by Natsu's side for the past 7 months, Happy was able to first-handedly experience Natsu's changes without Lucy. Even Happy was no longer the cheerful, teasing, flying blue cat he used to be. After the loss of Lucy, he would spend all day crying non-stop. It wasn't until Natsu decided to go on jobs to pay for Lucy's rent that Happy realized he had to pick himself back up.

Erza gently knocked on the cottage door, careful to not accidently break down the fragile wooden entrance. The door opened and standing before the three mages and one cat was a short elderly man. Since Tartarus had killed all the former Council members, a completely new Magic Council had to be voted in by the legal guilds.

"You kids must be Fairy Tail." The old man spoke. "Please come on in." He guided them in his house, waiting for Team Natsu to sit before introducing himself.

"My name is Ojiyama and as you guys probably already know, I'm one of the new Council members. I'm glad that you guys were the ones who took the job offer. I recently heard about how some Fairy Tail mages were taking care of dark guilds so I put out an offer hoping your group would take interest in it."

"Why would the Magic Council go so far as to put out a job offer? If the dark guild was that big of a threat, couldn't the Council have just called on some guilds to do the job for them?" Erza questioned. "Like the Oracion Seis incident." Gray added.

"I guess you could say I'm acting separate from the Magic Council. This dark guild goes by the name Lost Knights. " Ojiyama replied.

"Lost Knights?" Erza closed her eyes to think. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again and spoke. "Never heard of them."

Ojiyama sighed. "Yeah, neither has the Magic Council. That's why they don't see Lost Knights as a dark guild dangerous enough to ask the help of the legal guilds."

Erza stared at the old Council member. "And yet you put out such a big amount of reward money. There must be a good reason behind this."

"Like I said, I'm acting on my own here." Ojiyama repeated before continuing. "Recently there have been a lot of kidnappings happening in Fiore. The weird part is that only mages in local guilds have been targeted. I actually didn't pay much attention to this because mages disappear all the time when jobs go wrong. However, one day my own daughter disappeared and when she didn't come back for two weeks, I went over to her guild and found out that she never even took on a job. After a month of research and investigation, I found out that the kidnapping of mages were tied to the dark guild Lost Knights. To be honest, I never even heard of Lost Knights before any of this happened so my guess is that they're still trying to keep things low. But right now what I'm most concerned about is my daughter. " Ojiyama kneeled down on the ground and bowed, his head touching the ground. "I'm not asking you to defeat Lost Knights. All I want is for you to find my daughter and bring her back home safe and sound!"

Gray and Erza stared at Ojiyama, shocked that a Council member was lowering his head to them. "Please raise your head!" Erza spoke frantically but Ojiyama kept his head placed on the floor.

Suddenly Natsu jumped up, pounding his fist into his palm, creating a loud sound that reverberated across the room. "Don't worry old man. Not only will we bring your daughter back safely; we'll throw in a defeated dark guild as bonus!" Natsu's eyes blazed with a confidence so strong that anyone looking at him would unconsciously feel a warm sense of assurance.

Ojiyama seemed to also unconsciously feel that warm sense of assurance as he lifted his head off the ground. With tears in his eyes, the Council member furiously thanked the group of mages.

Gray and Erza had a look that read, "there Natsu goes again", but it quickly changed into a smile when they saw how grateful Ojiyama was.

After a few minutes, Ojiyama managed to calm himself and slid a piece of paper over to Erza. "I managed to follow one of their guild members back to their base." He pointed to a red "X" on the map. "This is where their guild is."

Erza took the paper and gave the old man a slight nod. "Let's go guys." She said before packing their bags and heading out the door.

"Just sit right here, pops. We'll be back soon and this time, with your daughter." Gray grinned.

"Thank you guys so much!" Ojiyama cried, bowing as he watched the group head off to the dark guild's base. "Please be safe!"

* * *

**A/N: Yay! Another short and boring chapter! But don't worry, I promise that the next chapter will finally have some ACTION!**

**In case any of you guys were wondering, the character name "Ojiyama" actually comes from the word "ojii-san" which means old man in Japanese (and then I added a random "yama" at the end). The dark guild name Lost Knights actually came from a random dark guild name generator I found on the web. Yep, I have no creativity.**

**Oh and I should mention that I haven't forgotten about Lucy's celestial spirits (nor Lucy), but I will say that when Lucy fell into hell, her keys fell in with her.**

**Anyways, please read and review! I appreciate all comments and I'll try my best to answer any questions without spoiling the plot.**


	6. Chapter 6

-CHAPTER 6-

"So this is Lost Knights." Erza murmured, staring up at the guild that looked as if it had come out of a horror movie. "For a dark guild, isn't this location a little too noticeable?" The huge building was literally right outside of the forest, sitting in plain view as if it was begging to be discovered. "Natsu, Gray, wait. This must be a tra—" "Natsu already left." Gray interrupted Erza, pointing to Natsu who was running up to the guild's front doors.

"Hey Lost Knights leader! Come out here and let me kick your ass!" Natsu shouted. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Bright flames surrounded Natsu's hand as he punched the front entrance down, breaking into the guild through the empty hole that once held large wooden doors.

A vein popped on Erza's forehead. After going on so many jobs with Natsu, she should've expected this to happen. "Let's go Gray." Gray let out a low chuckle before following Erza who had already started running after Natsu.

When Gray and Erza finally managed to get inside the guild, they were greeted by a flying cloaked figure. Barely managing to dodge at the last second, the body crashed into the wall between the two mages. The man let out a loud cough before falling on the floor unconscious. Looking up at the fiery dragon-slayer engaged in battle, it was quite obvious who the culprit was.

Gray looked down at the enemy that Natsu had just knocked out. The man donned a cloak that covered his whole body, his face buried in a red Hannya mask. Upon closer look, Gray noticed that ever single enemy in the building was wearing the same outfit. "Whoa, what is this, a cult?" he exclaimed. The only distinguishing features he could make out were the different colored masks and different body proportions.

"Hey Ice Princess! Are you just going to keep on stupidly standing there with your mouth wide open? If you're scared then just sit down and wait for me to finish wiping the whole guild out!" Natsu shouted, his fists pummeling through one enemy after another.

"Who are you calling scared?" Gray shouted back. He ran up to join Erza who had already began fighting her own set of enemies.

"Ice-Make Arrows!" Ice shot out of Gray's hands, transforming into a bow. With his other hand, he produced arrows and proceeded to rapidly shoot at his enemies.

Erza had already requipped into her classic Heart Kreuz armor, mercilessly slashing at foes using her dual swordplay.

Nastu sneaked a quick glance at his friends before looking up at the second floor. The floor above him appeared empty but he could see that there were unexplored rooms. "The leader is probably hiding in one of those rooms." He thought to himself.

"Erza! Gray! I'm leaving the enemies down here to you!" Natsu began running towards the stairs that lead to the second floor.

"Leave it up to me!" Gray replied with assurance. "Ice-Make Sword!" Switching from bow and arrows to creating a sword out of his ice, Gray began to use melee combat to counter against closer enemies.

"Don't act too recklessly Natsu!" Erza spoke, overlapping with Gray's reply, as she continued attacking using the two swords in her hands.

Satisfied with his friends' replies, Natsu turned towards Happy. "Happy, we're going up!" "Aye sir!" Happy responded, flying over and carrying Natsu up to the second floor.

Erza wiped the sweat off her face, her eyes glued on the enemy. She was beginning to feel exhausted from all the fighting. Not only were there a lot of enemies in numbers, but also her opponents were all formidable mages, some stronger than others. Erza could tell that Gray was experiencing the same thoughts because his movements were starting to slow down.

Requipping into her Heaven's Wheel Armor, Erza summoned about 100 swords which all circled around her head. "Dance, My Blades." At the sound of her command, Erza's swords slowly left the circle formation before flying towards her enemies.

Even after damaging numerous opponents with her swords, there was still a sizeable quantity left standing. Furthermore, as the battle prolonged, the enemies seemed to get smarter; some using magic shields to block her attacks while others parried her blows with their own magic weapons. Not to mention that she was also beginning to feel a strange, disturbing aura emitting from the dark guild members.

Erza dodged as a hand shot out in an attempt to attack her. "Claws?" She thought, noticing the sharpened fingernails on her assailant's hands. She brushed the thought aside to focus on defeating the enemy in front of her. As Erza extended her sword, the tip of her blade chipped against her opponent's mask, causing the mask to crack and slip off the enemy's face. Erza's eyes widen in shock, her mind registering the mysterious assailant's identity as the mask fell to the floor with a thud.

* * *

**A/N: So originally chapter 6 and chapter 7 were supposed to be one chapter but it turned out waayyy too long so I ended up splitting them into two chapters. And this was the only place that I could stop at without it sounding awkward, which explains why this chapter is so short. (I almost feel guilty for posting a chapter this short ;() But don't worry! This only means that the next chapter will be super long, probably the longest one yet! **

**I realized that I really suck at suspense so I decided to end this at a cliffhanger. ;)**

**Please read and review! There's finally some action and I promise next chapter will have even more!**


	7. Chapter 7

-CHAPTER 7-

Happy placed Natsu on the ground as they arrived on the second floor. Natsu looked around and was about to run in the direction of the largest room when he was stopped by a low voice. "What's the big rush? And even after I took the time to prepare so many wonderfully strong mages for you." Natsu's head spun towards the direction of the voice.

Sitting on a windowsill just above was a dark, young man in his 20s, a smug grin plastered on his face. Unlike all the small fries on the first floor, the mystery man didn't have a cloak or a mask on so his features were plainly visible for Natsu and Happy to see. On closer look, Natsu could see horns protruding out of each side of the enemy's forehead and large bat-like wings on his back. Natsu growled. His appearance made him look almost like a…demon. No, that was impossible. All the demons were defeated back in Tartarus so there was no way a demon could be here right now.

"Who the hell are you?" Natsu shouted. "Are you the leader?" The winged man bent over, trembling with laughter as if Natsu had just told him the funniest joke. He took a second to recover before replying. "Sorry to disappoint you but Father isn't here. We already knew a couple of mages were coming and decided to relocate before you brutes destroyed the whole place."

"I knew something was fishy when the old man said that he trailed you guys." Natsu muttered under his breath. The winged man let out a loud snort, his face twisting into a mocking smile. "Hah! As if we're that stupid to be outwitted by an old geezer! He didn't even know how to hide his presence!" He paused for a second before eyeing Natsu and Happy. "We kidnapped that geezer's daughter, fully aware that he was a member of the Magic Council just to lure you guys in here. You were the ones who fell in our trap!" The winged man started laughing loudly.

Natsu burned with rage as fire enveloped his whole body. "I don't care what you say. I'm going to beat your ass and take his daughter back!"

Hearing Natsu's declaration, the enemy stopped laughing and stared at Natsu. "Ooh, how scary!" He cried, feigning exaggerated fear. "But, I don't have that geezer's daughter. In fact, you probably already found her."

"What?" Natsu was already running towards the enemy, his fiery fist prepared to land an impacting blow but stopped when he heard the man's comment. Natsu hesitated for a second but redirected his attention back to the man, his eyes re-lit with anger. "Stop fucking around. That doesn't change the fact that I'm going to kick your ass!" And with that, Natsu resumed his attack towards the enemy.

Skillfully dodging Natsu's blows, the unidentified man held up his hands as if he was surrendering. "Whoa, calm down. If you don't believe me, go take a look yourself." He pointed his finger at Erza. "I think your friend already noticed it."

Erza continued staring at her supposed enemy who was now unmasked. There was no doubt about it. She had memorized the pictures of Ojiyama's daughter before they left so there was no way Erza could ever get her face wrong. Standing in front of her was the very same face she had seen in those pictures. The only difference was the tiny horns sticking out on the sides of the young girl's head.

"Kaya?" Erza asked hesitantly. However, the only response she got was a blank stare from the girl. It was as if something or someone was controlling Kaya from inside.

"Wait, if the masked person I was fighting against was actually the Council member's daughter then maybe the other masked guild members—" Realization hit Erza as she spun around, her eyes searching for her other two teammates. Her eyes landed on Gray, who was surrounded by masked mages, and Natsu, who appeared to be having a one-sided fight with an unmasked enemy.

"Natsu! Gray! Don't hurt those with a mask on!" Erza shouted, her hands busy holding on to Kaya's struggling claws.

"What, are you crazy? They're our enemies!" Gray shouted back. Natsu stopped attacking the winged man and looked towards Erza's direction.

"If my hunch is right, these masked mages are actually the mages that have been disappearing all over Fiore!" Hearing Erza's declaration, Gray stopped attacking; but only for a second before he was forced to defend against the onslaught of attacks from his enemies.

Gray thought Erza had finally lost it when she expressed her theory but he knew she wouldn't say things without a reason. "Ice-Make Thieving Hand!" With his fist in his palm, Gray conjured a replica of his hand, which he used to snatch off the mask of one of his nearby enemies.

Sure enough, Gray realized that Erza's belief was indeed correct when he came face to face with one of the Blue Pegasus mages that he met during the Grand Magic Games. The, now unmasked, mage had the same blank stare and mini horns as Kaya. "What the hell is going on?" Gray muttered under his breath.

Suddenly dark mist enshrouded the Blue Pegasus mage. The mage's eyes widened as if he was in pain. He started clawing at his throat, gasping for air. Foam formed around the corners of his mouth. Stunned, Gray subconsciously took a step back while watching the incredulous transformation unfold before his very eyes.

Grotesque, skin-colored wings burst out of from under the mage's cloak. Just underneath the two large wings, the cloak held another hole caused by a matching tail. Black tattoos slowly formed across both sides of his face. The monstrous mage turned towards Gray and the ice mage could see that his eyes had completely lost of all traces of his previous humanity. Letting out a beastly shriek, the once-Blue Pegasus mage vigorously lunged towards Gray.

"Shit!" Gray managed to snap out of his daze and defend against the beast at the very last second. "Ice-Make Shield!" He cried, forming a shield made out of ice to block the enemy's continuous attacks. "I know Erza said that these mages are being controlled, but this guy doesn't even seem human anymore! He almost seems like…"

"…a demon." Erza whispered softly. Before she could say anymore, Erza noticed a blur on her right side and instinctively raised her sword to guard against whatever was heading her way. Sparks flew as her blade clashed against claws.

Distracted by what was happening on Gray's end, Erza failed to notice that she had accidently loosened her grip on Kaya's wrists. Now once again defending against Kaya's claws, Erza's eyes widened when she saw that Kaya had undergone the same transformation as the Blue Pegasus mage. Nude wings and a tail sprouted from behind; tattoos running down her face; eyes wide with madness.

Using her peripheral vision, Erza could see that the rest of the masked mages were slowly experiencing the same demonic transformation as Kaya and the Blue Pegasus mage. Erza couldn't see their faces but she was pretty sure they were in excessive pain before submitting to the black mist around them. As if the mist had taken what little was left of their sanity, the mages began recklessly attacking whoever was closest to them, unable to discriminate against friend and foe.

"Ah…" The winged man sighed exasperatedly, his face filled with disappointment. "Guess the demon particles proved too much for such lowly mages. But then again they did last for more than 24 hours. Compared to the other mages who succumbed to the demon particles in the first few minutes, I have to give props to this group right here for their endurance." He stood up, brushing off the non-existent dust on his lap before speaking again. "Well, since they're completely useless now, I guess it's time to clean up." The man was about to jump down to the first floor but was intercepted by flames.

"Bastard…what the hell did you just do?" Natsu shouted, his eyes burning with anger and hatred.

"What do you mean? I was right here the whole time. There's no way I could've touched any of those mages." The man replied.

"Don't play dumb with me! I'm telling you to change them back right now!" Natsu's patience was wearing thin and the winged man's composed attitude was only making things worse. Not to mention that the man had mentioned something about demons and Natsu had an immense hatred for demons.

The man sighed again, placing one hand on his brow and shaking his head. "This is why I hate the hot-headed ones. I have to explain literally everything to them." He took his hand off his head and stared straight at Natsu. "Listen up, human. Father was kind enough to share some of his black magic with everyone so they could get stronger but these fools were too weak and, in the end, succumbed to the darkness inside of them. If only they were as tough as me, then none of this would've happened. Now those pathetic mages have been reduced to nothing more than a bunch of mindless demons, thirsty for blood."

The man flapped his wings in an attempt to fly down to the first floor. "If you'll excuse me, I got some demon slaying to do." However, he was once again, stopped by Natsu's flames.

"DON'T FUCK WITH ME!" Natsu roared. "You and that 'Father' of yours, who do you guys think you are? Experimenting with people and then throwing them away… WHAT GIVES YOU GUYS THE RIGHT TO TOY WITH HUMAN LIVES?"

The demonic man scoffed. "Who cares about a couple of pathetic human lives? It embarrasses me that I was once one of those weak humans!" He stretched out his wings. "Look at me! Look at how much stronger the new powers, given by Father, made me!"

"Shut up." Natsu growled. "You don't look strong at all to me. Fighting with some borrowed power; every mage I know is stronger than you!"

"What did you just say?" For the first time, the man's smug grin was wiped off his face and replaced a nasty snarl. "If you keep insisting on getting in my way then I'll have no choice but to take care of you first!" He lunged towards Natsu holding a spear made out of the same black mist that overtook the masked mages. "I'll take you back as a gift for Father. You look like you'll make a wonderful demon!"

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Puffing his cheeks, Natsu blew flames out at his opponent. Lifting up his spear, the demon used his weapon to shield himself from Natsu's flames. Forming a ball of magic in one of his hands, he began shooting black bullets at Natsu. Natsu felt one of the bullets pierce through his side but ignored the searing pain, only focusing on defeating the enemy in front of him. His whole body now engulfed in fire, Natsu used his flames to propel forward towards the winged man. Before his opponent could react, Natsu grabbed onto the collar of the man's shirt.

He brought his face close to the winged man and spoke in a low growl. "You said you were a demon. Do you know anything about a girl named Lucy Heartiflia?" "Huh? How should I know?" The man answered, trying to swat Natsu's hands away from his collar, but to no avail. "I don't memorize the names of each and every lowly human I meet!" "Then you're useless to me." Natsu said, gritting his teeth.

"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" His grip still firm on the enemy, Natsu gave the man a strong head-butt, hurling him towards the ground. The impact caused by the man's body created cracks on ground, his back arching in a weird manner before he began coughing up blood. Natsu, his body still ablaze, walked up to his fallen foe. The man had just finished wiping off the blood that trickled down his mouth and was now struggling to stand back up.

Before Natsu could land another blow on the demon, a flash of black separated Natsu and his enemy. Instinctively jumping backwards, Natsu could now see that a whip, surrounded by dark mist, was lying on the floor in between the two mages. His eyes followed the whip until it reached the owner. The person who interrupted their battle was one of the many masked mages he had seen on the first floor, except this one had a feminine figure and no wings nor tail.

"Hey, who gave you permission to butt in?" The winged man asked in an annoyed voice. He had taken advantage of the masked woman's intervention and was now standing up again, ready to fight another round. "Don't get in my way or I'll kill you." His threat, however, had no effect on the woman and she kept her whip in between Natsu and the winged man. "Tch. I forgot that you masked freaks don't talk." The man sighed in irritation, his body relaxing. "This is getting annoying. Father gets mad when I kill those who still have their consciousness." He pointed his finger at Natsu. "Next time I won't let you off so easily!" And with that said, the demon flapped his wings and flew out the window.

"Wait! I'm not letting you run away so easily!" Natsu was about to jump out the window to pursue the man but he was once again stopped by the masked woman's whip.

"Get out of my way!" He yelled, sending a fist full of flames towards the woman. The woman put up her arms in a desperate attempt to block but she was too late. The moment Natsu's fist connected with her arm, the woman was sent flying, letting out a small gasp when her body collided with the wall.

Without turning back to make sure the interference was down, Natsu jumped on top of the broken window and scanned the horizon for any signs of his escaped enemy. However, he was only greeted by a blue sky void of the winged man. "Damnit!" Natsu cried, punching the wall next to him in frustration.

Natsu glanced back, his anger now directed towards the woman who allowed his prey to escape. She was lying on the floor unconscious.

"Natsu!" Before Natsu was able to do anything, he saw Gray and Erza running up the stairs. They had just finished knocking out and tying up the demons on the first floor; more than half were killed by their fellow demons.

Erza quickly scanned over the area before turning her attention towards the dragon-slayer. "Natsu, what happened here? I saw something flying out the window." Natsu gave a short summary of everything that happened while Erza and Gray were busy trying to subdue the demons on the first floor.

"I see." Erza said after hearing what happened on Natsu's side. "This may be worse than we thought." Her eyes were filled with concern and uncertainty. It wasn't every day that Erza took on a job she felt was too dangerous for her to complete without the help of others. "If what you said is true, Natsu, then this is more than just a simple case of kidnapping. We have to go back and warn Master as soon as possible!"

"What are you talking about, Erza? We still haven't defeated the dark guild yet!" Natsu shouted angrily.

"That wasn't the mission!" Erza replied in a harsh tone. "Our mission was to bring Ojiyama's daughter back and now that we have her, our mission is complete. We'll let the Magic Council take care of the other transformed mages."

"Our mission was to bring her back safely…she's far from safe." Natsu thought to himself. However, he didn't dare say this to Erza.

Suddenly Natsu remembered the masked woman that he knocked out. "What do we do with her?" He asked, pointing to the direction of the unconscious woman. "She might be just like the winged man I fought, considering how she hasn't transformed yet."

"We'll tie her up and have the Magic Council deal with her." Erza replied, walking towards the masked woman. She was just one foot away from the fallen woman when a large black sword came flying her way, forcing Erza to jump back in surprise to avoid getting skewered.

Right after the sword came another cloaked man, this one with a blue mask. Just like the other transformed mages the man had wings and a tail, but appeared as if he had no desire to fight. The masked man picked up the woman before retreating out of the window he came from.

"Not again…" Natsu gritted his teeth. "This time I'm not letting you guys get away!" Fire shot out of Natsu's mouth, hitting the masked man in one of his legs. The man tripped and tumbled down into the forest below.

Natsu jumped up on to the window, prepared to follow his injured enemies but was stopped by Erza. "Natsu, that's enough. Those two are both hurt. They're not going to be doing anything anytime soon."

"That's what I thought last time…" Natsu's voice cracked. He spoke louder, his face twisted in an expression of anger, sorrow, and guilt. "That's what I thought 7 months ago! I thought Mard Geer wasn't in any condition to be doing anything so I let him go! Look where that has gotten us!"

"That's enough, flame-brain." Gray spoke up. "You're not the only one who's hurting. We all feel the same way."

Natsu looked down, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "I…I just don't want to regret anymore…" He muttered lifelessly.

Erza looked at Natsu sympathetically, not quite knowing what to say. Finally she said the only words she could think of. "Let's go home."

Natsu sullenly followed Erza and Gray. He felt an unbelievable sense of loss walking out of those guild doors; a sense of loss he hadn't felt in 7 months.

**A/N: So the long part 2 chapter has finally arrived! It was interesting how everyone guessed that Erza's attacker was Lucy...and nope, it wasn't! But don't worry, I promised you that Lucy will appear...sometime...somewhere...**

**Anyways, I don't know if it was completely clear in this chapter but let me explain about the winged man's motives. The reason he wanted Ojiyama to ask mages for help was because he wanted strong mages to fight against the masked mages. It's like an experiment.**

**You guys have no idea how hard it was to write this chapter without names and I really felt that the winged man wasn't the type of person to just randomly give out his name to his enemy. Though I probably will be naming him in the future just for the sake of making my own life easier. **

**Well, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please read and review (and favorite and follow)! **

**P.S. is it just me or is the line thingy gone from the Copy-N-Paste format options? **


	8. Chapter 8

-CHAPTER 8-

Erza sat in the train with Natsu, knocked out, sleeping on her lap. Gray and Happy sat directly across from them. She thought back to what had happened just one hour ago.

_Erza's heart was beating quickly as she watched Ojiyama attempt to communicate with his demonized daughter, but there was no success. The Council member had not asked the Fairy Tail mages any questions since they returned with Kaya but his face showed that he knew what happened just by looking at their expressions._

_ Finally Ojiyama turned towards the three mages, causing Erza to tense up. He smiled softly before sliding a large pouch, of what Erza assumed to be Jewels, towards them. "Thank you for bringing my daughter back. Here's the reward money I promised." _

_ Natsu stared at the pouch for a second before sliding it back to Ojiyama. "We're not going to accept this, old man. We promised to return your daughter back home safely and we failed to do that, so we can't take the money." _

_ Gray nodded, his hands behind his head. "That goes against our policy." _

_ Ojiyama stared at the mages in surprise. "Are you sure? You still returned my daughter so I'd like to at least pay you something back."_

_ Natsu stood up and walked towards the door, his hands in his pockets. "We said we don't want it." _

_ Gray and Erza followed after Natsu. Before walking out the door, Erza turned her head towards Ojiyama. "The remaining missing mages are still in the dark guild so I'm leaving it up to you and the rest of the Council to take care of that." She looked away before continuing. "That dark guild is up to some pretty dangerous things so you might want to tell the Magic Council to keep an eye out for any suspicious activities." With that said, Erza waved and stepped back into the forest, closing the door behind her. _

Erza snapped back to the present just as the train arrived at their destination. Gathering their belongings, Erza, Gray, and Natsu headed home to Fairy Tail.

Upon hearing the creaking sounds of their guild doors opening, Mirajane perked up. "Welcome back! How was the job?" She smiled cheerfully, masking any signs of worry.

Mira's façade slipped a bit when she heard Erza's reply. "Not so great. Where's Master?" Mira hesitated for a second before re-plastering a fake grin on her face. "He's upstairs. I think he wanted to talk to you guys too, when you came back."

Mira waited until Erza, Gray, and Natsu were out of sight before letting out a big sigh of concern. She couldn't shake off that uneasy feeling she felt the moment Team Natsu came back with those serious expression on their faces. Not to mention that they headed straight to Master's office right after coming back. This could only mean that something serious happened during their last job. Mira closed her eyes and furrowed her brows. "Why did this have to happen now of all times? Right when every one was finally recovering from the incident that happened 7 months ago."

Upstairs, Erza, Natsu, and Gray were able to quickly locate Makarov. Whatever Makarov had intended to discuss with the trio was quickly pushed aside when he saw the urgency on his children's faces. He patiently listened as Erza summarized everything that happened during their job.

"So they're planning on using mages to create an army of demons." Makarov said, his expression serious. Erza nodded. "I believe that their ultimate goal is to overthrow Fiore…no, they may even be thinking of all of Earthland. The longer we wait, the more mages they'll kidnap and the more dangerous they'll become."

"I'll go talk to the Magic Council. As much as I hate them, we need the help of fellow local guilds if we hope to bring down Lost Knights. Who knows how many mage-turned-demons they have now." With that said, Makarov prepared to head downstairs. "Don't do anything rash for now. We don't even know where their base is."

Gray elbowed Natsu's side. "Did you hear that flame-brain? Don't do anything rash." Natsu elbowed Gray back even harder. "What did you say, ice princess? I'm pretty sure he was talking to you!" Soon it escalated into a full on fight, which Erza had to stop with a blow to the top of both of their heads.

Two days later, Makarov came back from his meeting with the Magic Council. Due to Ojiyama's report and dealing with the rest of the demons, the Council had already deemed Lost Knights as a dangerous dark guild that had to be dealt with immediately. Makarov's story was the final straw that made the Council call on the local guilds for help.

Blue Pegasus, Mermaid Heel, and Lamia Scale were in charge of finding information and locating Lost Knight's guild. Due to previous battle experience with the dark guild, Fairy Tail was asked to defeat the guild once it was found. Along with Fairy Tail, Sabertooth was also asked to help fight the dark mages.

"A dark guild; demons; saving the world; not to mention, fighting alongside Sabertooth again…this is all feels too similar to that incident …" Gray spoke quietly, barely above a whisper. However, Juvia, being right next to him, managed to overhear Gray's comment. "Just like Tartarus…" She elaborated in a concerned tone. "Juvia is worried."

Gray looked at Juvia, realizing that his angst was being infectious. Gray patted Juvia on the head causing her to blush a deep red. "Don't worry." He flashed her a big grin. "We're Fairy Tail!"

Hearing Gray's confident comment, Juvia's eyes turned into hearts. She leaped at Gray and hugged him tight around the waist, causing Gray to flinch. "Gray-sama! "You're so cool!"

Suddenly Carla burst through the guild doors, flying unevenly before collapsing on the ground. Everyone's eyes widened at the sight of the white Exceed. Bruises marred her face and her wings were tattered. It was obvious that she had been involved in a brutal fight.

Wendy and Carla had left on a job three days ago, one day before Team Natsu came back from their job. It was supposed to be an easy job; to collect some medicinal herbs for a hospital. Sure the herbs were at the edge of a cliff but for Carla, it was a piece of cake since she could fly. It was supposed to be a simple job and yet here the white cat lay on the ground; injured and alone. The very first thing Fairy Tail noticed when Carla came flying through those big wooden doors, beside her injuries, was the fact that Wendy was not with her. There was never a time when Carla and Wendy were not together; they were inseparable.

Happy was the first one who came flying over to his fellow Exceed. "Carla! You're hurt!" He cried with tears in his eyes.

Natsu was the next one to arrive by Carla's side, running after Happy the moment he zoomed off to help Carla. "Hey Carla, where's Wendy?" Natsu asked, an expression of deep concern.

"Wait, Natsu. Let's treat her injuries first." Mirajane appeared next to Natsu and bent down, carefully picking up the injured cat.

Carla put her tiny paw on Mira's hands. She opened one eye and struggled to speak, her voice desperate. "Please save Wendy! Wendy…Wendy was kidnapped!"

* * *

**A/N: Dun Dun Dun! This chapter is more like a prelude to the next chapter which will be another super long chapter. **

**Anyways, please read and review (and favorite and follow)! **

**Btw, italicized words = flashbacks.**


	9. Chapter 9

-CHAPTER 9-

"What? Carla, what are you talking about? What happened to Wendy?" Natsu shouted angrily. Mira tried to calm him down but the fire-slayer just shook her off.

"About two days ago, Wendy and I had just finished our job and were getting ready to take the train back to Fiore. However before we reached the train station, some guy with wings attacked us; we were no match for him. He knocked us both out and when I woke up, Wendy was gone." Carla replied, tears streaming down her eyes.

"Guy with wings…" Natsu frowned. "Carla! Did he have dark skin and horns on his head?" Carla nodded, a little surprised. "Yeah, how did you know? Did he attack you guys too?"

Natsu didn't reply. He clenched his fists, eyes wide with rage. Two days ago…two days ago Natsu had allowed a winged demon to escape from under his grasp. If the man had happened upon Wendy while he was escaping and attacked her then… "Damnit!" Natsu cursed silently to himself. Once again, he had failed to deal the final blow and once again, he had lost someone precious to him. However, this time he was going to save her.

Natsu jumped up, his eyeballs glued on the door. "Lost Knights…" Natsu muttered, unable to conceal his overflowing hatred for the dark guild. "They picked a fight with the wrong guild. No one hurts a Fairy Tail member and gets away with it!" And with that said, Natsu ran out of the guild to pursue the dark guild that had kidnapped his friend.

"Wait Natsu!" Mira cried. "You don't even know where their guild is!" However, her voice fell on deaf ears as Natsu had already ran out.

"Leave him Mira." Makarov spoke, his eyes closed. "But Master –" "He'll come back once he's cooled down." Makarov opened his eyes; evidently angered. "Though it'll be good if he was able to find Lost Knights and kick their ass." Makarov had already lost one of his beloved children 7 months ago to a dark guild and he was not about to relive the pain of losing another. This time, there was actually a way to save Wendy; it would be different from the Tartarus incident.

The rest of Fairy Tail seemed to have the same thoughts. The Lost Knights fight would be their redemption for their Tartarus fight. Everyone hoped that by defeating Lost Knights, they would all finally be able to relieve some of the guilt weighing in their hearts and have some peace of mind.

Suddenly, everyone's thoughts were interrupted as they heard the guild doors slowly creak open. "What flame-brain? You're back already?" Gray asked, assuming that the person behind those doors was their very own fire-breathing dragon slayer. However he was taken aback when the doors opened just enough for the light to reflect the figure of the masked woman he had encountered just two days ago. Behind her was the blue masked man, the one who had saved the woman before Erza could tie her up.

"Shit, I don't even know where to start." Natsu thought to himself. A few minutes ago, he had ran out of the guild in a blind attempt to rescue Wendy. The moment Natsu heard that Wendy had been kidnapped, he was instantly reminded of what happened 7 months ago and lost himself to his own emotions. Happy had followed Natsu out of the guild and was now flying silently next to his partner.

A light bulb popped above Natsu's head as he remembered what Master had said upon his return from the meeting with the Magic Council. _"Blue Pegasus, Mermaid Heel, and Lamia Scale are in charge of finding information and locating Lost Knight's guild." _Natsu rushed on over to the three guilds, desperately hoping that they had at least some information to help him find Wendy.

Back in Fairy Tail, Gray instinctively created a sword made out of ice the moment he saw the two people standing by the door. "What the hell are you guys doing here?" He spat out. Erza had already requipped into her Heart Creuz armor and was also holding on to her sword, prepared to fight the intruders. The rest of Fairy Tail had noticed Gray and Erza's hostile reactions and immediately took on a battle position.

"Wait, everyone! They're not here to fight!" Before any one could say or do anything, a small voice broke the tense atmosphere. Everyone looked around to see where the voice came from. They recognized that familiar voice but it all seemed too good to be true. As if to confirm their thoughts, Wendy peered out from behind the masked woman.

"WENDY!" Everyone cried happily, running over to hug the little girl. They were all curious as to how Wendy managed to escape from Lost Knights and wanted to bombard her with a ton of questions, but for now, they were just glad that she was back safely.

"Wendy!" Carla's lone voice stood out from the rest of Fairy Tail as she flew over from Mira's arms and into Wendy's embrace. "Wendy! I'm so glad you're safe!" She cried, tears pouring out. "Sorry for worrying you Carla." Wendy replied with a warm smile on her face.

Everyone gathered around as Wendy placed Carla down to heal her injuries. After confirming that Carla was in a stable condition, Wendy turned towards the masked woman and masked man who were still standing at the doorway. They had been watching the entire scene unfold, never uttering a single word. Some of the mages even forgot that they were there in the first place.

Wendy stood up and walked over to the two who had accompanied her all the way back to Fairy Tail. Beaming a bright smile, she held onto the masked woman's hands, which took the woman by surprise. "Thank you for saving me!" Wendy exclaimed gratefully, her honest smile never leaving her face. Sensing the rest of her guild mates' confusion, Wendy proceeded to tell them an account of everything that had happened after both her and Carla blanked out.

_Wendy awoke in a dark and musty cell, her arms and legs bound by chains connected to the wall. "Ouch…" Wendy groaned as she tried to readjust her position. Her whole body ached from the bruises she received while fighting the winged man. "I hope Carla is okay." _

_Wendy placed her hands on the prison bars and peered outside in an attempt to gather any little clues about where she was. However, she soon sat back down, disappointed that she couldn't smell or see anything. "Why did they kidnap me?" Wendy wondered to herself. "I remember hearing that winged man say something about how they never had a dragon slayer demon before. I wonder what he meant by that." Demons. The sound of that very word left a nasty after taste in Wendy's mouth. Not only because demons were what took Lucy away from Fairy Tail, but because demons were also what caused Natsu to change so much. Wendy let out a sigh. She really missed the old Fairy Tail._

_ Few hours had passed when Wendy awoke to the sound of jingling keys and her cell door opening. Wendy quickly sat up and mentally braced herself. "I have to be strong like Natsu. I'm not going to give up without a fight!" She thought determinedly. _

_Wendy watched as a masked woman entered her cell and walked towards her. The sky dragon slayer mustered up all her courage and gave the woman a nasty look, refusing to appear weak in front of her enemies. However the masked woman remained unfazed as she knelt down to unlock Wendy's chains. _

_When the final cuff fell from her ankle, Wendy stayed on guard, ready to react the moment the woman attacked. The masked woman stared at Wendy for a second, her emotions hidden behind her mask. Finally she stood up and, to Wendy's surprise, began walking back from the direction she came from, beckoning Wendy to follow. "Did she just set me free?" Wendy thought. However, she had no time for thoughts since the masked woman was halfway out the cell._

_Wendy decided to just keep quiet and follow the masked woman out of the prison; everything else could wait until later. While escaping together, Wendy could tell that the woman was acting on her own. She always cautiously checked her surroundings before moving from one spot to another and appeared as if she wanted to avoid the other masked people. _

_After what felt like an hour, Wendy could see a light that led to the exit. Seeing the masked woman break out into a run, Wendy excitedly ran after her. However, her excitement was short-lived as she watched the woman freeze right before the exit and stand protectively, with one arm out, in front of Wendy. _

_Wendy peeked out from under the woman's arm, startled when she saw a blue masked man standing in front of the pair. "Oh no!" She thought. "If that's an enemy then we've got no choice but to fight." _

_Just when Wendy was thinking this, she barely heard the masked woman in front of her whisper. "Aoi…" "Aoi?" Wendy pondered. "Is that the masked man's name?" The two masked people stood in front of each other, silently, as if they were having a telepathic conversation. Finally the masked man spoke up, breaking the silence._

_"Are you betraying Lost Knights?" The masked woman only nodded in response. "Then I will too. Wherever you go, I will follow." The woman appeared troubled, but eventually caved under the masked man's tenacity. "This path is not safe. There's another exit in the back." _

_Together, the three mages spent another hour locating the other exit before finally stepping outside. Wendy embraced the fresh air, ecstatic that she could finally go back to Fairy Tail. Wendy turned towards her saviors only to see them already heading back inside the dark guild. _

_"Wait!" Wendy cried, but the two didn't stop walking. Wendy refused to give up. "Why did you help me?" Hearing no reply from the masked woman, Wendy tried again. "Are you on our side?" She remembered hearing the masked man say something about betraying Lost Knights. If the masked man and woman were really allies instead of enemies, then it would be extremely helpful to have someone who knew the guild inside out. Again, Wendy's question was answered with silence. Wendy took a deep breath before shouting something unexpected. "Come back to Fairy Tail with me!" _

_As if that last sentence were the magic words, the masked woman stopped dead in her tracks. Her back was still turned, but Wendy could tell that she was wavering. Wendy took this chance to continue talking. "If you guys are doing something with demons then eventually Natsu will find you guys and hunt your whole guild down. If we're fighting against the same enemies then let's fight together!"_

_The masked woman hesitated. She stole a quick glance at her blue masked friend before nodding and following Wendy all the way back to Fairy Tail._

"So basically you're saying that our enemies turned on their guild and became our allies." Erza said, after listening to Wendy's story. Mira turned towards the two masked people and stuck out her hand. "Thank you." Mira smiled when she saw the masked woman hesitate to shake her hand. "A friend of Wendy's is a friend of Fairy Tail." She said, grabbing the woman's hand. Wendy could've sworn she saw a smile behind that mask, but of course that was impossible.

"The other masked mages, they all looked like they were being controlled by something. How were you two able to sustain your consciousness?" Erza asked. The masked woman and the man named Aoi turned to look at each other before turning back to the mages in front of them. "Oh right. I forgot that these masked people don't talk." Gray walked to the back of the guild and came back with a pen and notepad. "Here." He said, handing the items over to the masked woman.

The masked woman took the pen and notepad from Gray and began writing. She flipped the notepad around, showing everyone the words "I don't really know" largely written on the paper. "I wonder why they don't talk." Wendy thought to herself. "I'm pretty sure I heard both of them talking back when we were in the dark guild."

The woman flipped the notepad back around and began writing again; this time something more than just one sentence. When she finished writing, Mira helped read the writing out loud for everyone to hear. "Since you got Wendy back, there is no need for you to fight Lost Knights. I will personally put an end to the dark guild myself. In return for rescuing your guild member, we ask that you don't involve yourself in our guild's business any further."

Before anyone could make any objections, the woman turned to walk out the guild. "Wait!" Wendy cried.

Natsu and Happy had gone to all three of the guilds in charge of information, but they all had the same response. "Sorry, we have no lead. Lost Knights always seems to be one step ahead of us." Disappointed, Natsu decided to head on back to Fairy Tail to see if anyone else discovered any new info while he was away.

Standing in front of the guild doors, Natsu thought his ears were lying when he overheard Wendy's voice telling someone to wait. As if to confirm what he had just heard, Natsu bursted into the guild doors, his eyes locking on to Wendy's.

"Natsu!" Wendy exclaimed, completely distracted from what she was about to say to the masked woman. Natsu was about to reply when he noticed the masked woman standing right in front of him. Immediately, feelings of wrath and animosity swelled up and his body lit up with blazing fire.

"YOU!" Natsu cried, tackling the masked woman on to the ground. Aoi immediately pointed a sword at Natsu's throat in case he tried to harm the woman, but Natsu paid no attention to him. Natsu could feel her struggling underneath him., her previous calm demeanor completely shattered. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Wholly consumed in his current emotions, Natsu couldn't hear Wendy's cries telling him to stop. Being answered with silence only frustrated Natsu even more. "ANSWER ME!"

Natsu felt additional frustration as his eyes landed on the woman's mask. Unable to see her face, he felt like the woman was secretly mocking him behind her mask. Natsu's face twisted in agitation, one hand moving to the woman's mask.

"Don't…" He heard a soft frantic cry, spoken in a sweet, familiar voice. However, his brain registered the voice a second too late for his body had already ripped the mask right off the woman's face. "Don't look at me!" The woman screamed, immediately putting both of her hands up to block her face the moment Natsu removed her mask.

Natsu's flames vanished as he continued to sit on top of the woman's torso, speechless. That nostalgic voice when she yelled; those beautiful blonde locks that fell from her face when he took off her mask; and most importantly, that unmistakable pink Fairy Tail mark imprinted on the right hand that covered her face. Yes, there was no doubt about it.

Natsu hesitantly reached for the woman's right wrist, gently caressing the pink mark on the back of her hand with his thumb. He gulped before stuttering the name of the one girl who haunted his dreams every night; the one girl he could never take his mind off of; the one girl he would gladly die just to see again.

"L…Lu…Lucy."

* * *

**A/N: YAY Lucy finally makes her appearance! Yep, you guys guessed it. She's the masked woman. Next chapter will finally have some interaction between Natsu and Lucy.**

**Sorry for the slow updates. I got wrapped up in watching anime and I started losing motivation cause there's been too little NaLu moments in the manga. ;(**

**College is starting in less than 2 weeks so updates might be even slower but I hope you guys don't give up on me! I promise I'll try my best to finish this fanfiction, plus I already have the ending in mind. I just need to motivate myself to put the rest of the story into words.**

**Thanks for reading! Please read and review!**


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